Double Rainbow
by chosen1destahnee
Summary: Father's Day is a time that should be spent with your loved ones. But what if your son isn't your biggest fan? Luke and Vader father-son fic, contains extreme fluff and emotions that make readers think "why couldn't it be like this?"


AN: Happy Father's Day to all! This is a little late because my Internet went down. But it's fixed now. Being a big fan of Luke and Vader/Anakin's father-son relationship, I couldn't resist the perfect opportunity for extreme fluff. So, I rose to the occasion and composed this fic. Please review!

Sometimes you never know something was ever missing until you get it back. Not for me. I felt every bit of the guilt and pain that built up inside of me for the last two decades. But then…then HE came along.

He was like no one I'd ever met before. His presence, so bright, just like his sparkling eyes. I'll admit, I'm slightly jealous of him. He's just so young and free, no one can hold him down.

As for myself, extreme stress caused my aging process to speed up. Every one year, I age about two years. Instead of being forty four, I'm about sixty three. All my life, I've been a slave to somebody. And worst of all, I've been held down for as long as I can remember.

You can only imagine my shock when I found out I had someone to live for. Part of me wanted to tell everyone I met the wonderful news. I was practically bursting with joy.

So when my small light rejected me…well, I was crushed. The feeling was almost as devastating as when I was told my beloved died by my hand. I spent many sleepless nights trying to figure out why he, my son, had turned me down. Was it something I said? Was it something I did? Or…did I offer the wrong thing?

Yes, that's it. I looked down at my 'body', and it all became crystal clear. Of course he rejected my offer! He saw what saying yes did to me, and that's enough to drive anyone away. I would've sighed if my breathing wasn't machine regulated. He hasn't seen ANYTHING yet. Luke's still ignorant as to what gruesome damage this force forsaken suit's hiding. Wish I could say the same.

From within my chambers, I can barely hear the distant cries of "Happy Father's Day!" coming from the bridge. I could snort at that. No one's ever got me a present, and I've unknowingly been a father for twenty years. Maybe I don't deserve a present. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't appreciate receiving one.

"Lord Vader."

I snapped to attention, lowered down my helmet and mask, and then turned to face Admiral Piett.

"Yes Admiral?" I questioned in my synthetic voice.

"There's a uh…message for you. It's in a paper envelope, very old fashioned. Should I scan it first or give it to you."

A paper envelope? That's a little odd. Well, what's the worst that could happen?

"I'll take it," I responded.

Piett nodded and handed the questionable object to me. He exited and I retreated back into the hyperbaric chamber. I unsealed the envelope and looked at the contents. There was just a letter. I tried squinting to adjust my damaged vision. My attempt was unsuccessful, all the letters just looked like weird blobs. I almost laughed. The great and powerful Darth Vader, unable to read a simple message.

I put the mask on, just so I could see through the lenses and read: 'Dear Lord Vader, I didn't send this differently because I can't risk this being intercepted. Sorry if this was a problem. It's Father's Day, and I thought we kind of had a rough start. I hit your shoulder, then you chopped off my hand…enough said. I was thinking maybe would could do some father son stuff, catch up on lost years? I know it's kind of crazy, but it's worth a shot. If so, I'll be on Naboo. Hope to see you. Sincerely, Luke Skywalker.'

My mind took a while to process that. He wanted ME? The monstrosity who chopped off his hand and tortured his friends? I reread the letter several times to make sure I didn't read it wrong. So it was true. He really did want to see me. On Naboo. His mother's home planet.

Would I go? Of course! I hadn't done something for myself in ages. This had the chance of actually being pleasant. I left immediately, a weird sensation growing in my chest. As I got closer to Naboo, the sensation grew stronger.

As I went into the planet's atmosphere, I tried to pinpoint Luke's location. I found him, and a strong sense of dread came over me. He was in the very building where Padmé had said we would raise him. There goes my emotional control.

I stood in front of the house, memories attacking me, and slowly knocked on the door. I'm pretty sure I heard Luke's voice saying, "He's here!" and footsteps coming down the stairs. The door opened a crack and Luke popped out.

"You actually came," he said, his surprise evident.

There was a stony silence between us, and I waited for him to say something. But then he gave me the look that meant it was my turn to make an awkward comment.

"What were you thinking, inviting me here?" I asked, trying to meet the standards of my reputation.

"I was thinking that you need to express your feelings a little more," Luke answered in a child-like manner, "Keeping them buried isn't healthy."

Was he reprimanding me? Why, that little…

Then I saw the forgiving eyes. Oh force, I can't stay mad at him. He's too much like his mother. Oh how I miss her.

"Miss who?" my son asked.

I must've said that out loud. Stang. Well, now he's going to get what he wanted. Me expressing my feelings.

"I can't say out here," I said.

Luke nodded and we went inside. Everything looked the same way it had all those years ago. When I had a future. A future that I personally destroyed.

"Your mother," I said as I flopped onto a couch, "not a second goes by without me thinking of her. Now she's gone, and it's all my fault."

I waited for Luke to demand to know what I meant by 'all my fault'. He never did. I was too focused on strengthening my mental shields to notice Luke sitting down and putting an arm around me until I felt the pressure of the arm on my armor.

"Everybody loses it, Father," Luke said, "everybody wants to throw it all away sometimes. When you first told me you were my father, I felt that way. I know what you've been going through, at least somewhat. Don't let it get the best of you, you'll make it out alive."

"Who told you that?" I muttered.

Luke answered, "I've had a lot of time to think about this kind of thing."

"I guess being a Skywalker just means you'll run into trouble," I said dryly.

"Trouble is what led me to you," Luke replied, trying to be positive.

"Indeed it did."

We sat in silence for a while. No words were needed for us to convey our feelings towards one another. My precious child had his head rested on my shoulder, fluffy hair falling in his face. I bit my lip under the mask. Another thing I missed. I gently pushed Luke's bangs out of his eyes, wishing I could actually feel them.

"I could really use a hair cut," Luke noted quietly.

"I like it like this," I blurted out before I could stop myself. That must've sounded really stupid coming from me.

Luke gave me a weird look, but then asked, "Which parent do I look most like? You or mom?"

All things considered, there really was no simple way to answer that. Crazy things- awful things happened which changed my potential response. Maybe I could just- no. No lying to him. I lied to myself and look at me. Actually, don't look at me, that would make me feel rather uncomfortable.

"I used to look like you," I answered solemnly.

Luke's eyebrow quirked upward, "So…you don't anymore?"

I nodded, "Yes. I had a-uh…an incident if you will, which resulted in my disfiguration and mutilation."

"I'm sorry," Luke said melancholically.

I sighed, "It's alright my son, you were blissfully unaware of such things."

Luke nodded, but continued talking, "Do you actually believe in what the Empire is doing?"

Why does he choose all the hardest questions? This is supposed to be a nice get together, not an interrogation on my personal life!

I worded my response carefully, "Perhaps my faith in what I supposedly stand for has…wavered, since a new factor came into play."

Luke smiled mischievously, "Hmm, I wonder what that 'factor' is?"

I couldn't help but chuckle at that, "Maybe it's…I don't know, you?"

Luke's smile grew, "Me? No…what gives you that idea?"

"Well, you're the only thing that's made me happy in a long time," I said pridefully.

"I find your lack of faith disturbing, Father," Luke said, and I froze.

Was that just a coincidence or did he pull the phrase from my mind? Luke's smirk told me it was the latter.

"Why you rascal!" I exclaimed, tackling him to the floor (but being careful that I didn't crush him) and ruffling his hair playfully. Luke was laughing and screaming for me to let him go, but I didn't give in.

Later, I was standing on the deck, arms behind my back, contemplating the last few hours. Luke came up to stand beside me and said, "I had fun today. It was nice getting to see the real you."

"The real me?" I questioned.

He nodded, "The real you. Usually you uphold your bad reputation. You're all tough, ruthless, and soulless. But today, you were none of that. You were yourself. A nice, loving guy who's just a little lonely. And the dark lord the world knows doesn't play with the hair of the Empire's number one enemy."

"I guess I came out of my shell today," I added awkwardly.

Luke looked me in the eye, as if he could see my eyes beyond the mask lenses, and said, "Then promise me you'll never go back in."

I found myself wrapped in his arms, and did my best to return the gesture. Then, I said all that was left to say.

"I promise."

AN: Please review!


End file.
